Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition - Mentor's Guide

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the wilderness and furnished with troughs. At night he brought the flock home to the fold, counting them as they passed under the rod at the door to assure himself that none were missing. Nor did his labors always end with sunset. Often he had to guard the fold through the dark hours from the attack of wild beasts, or the wily attempts of the prowling thief (see 1 Sam. 17.34).

~ David M. Easton. Easton’s Bible Dictionary . (electronic ed. of 1897 printing). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996.

What is important to understand is that the call to pastor is simultaneously a call to be like the Lord Jesus, the one who epitomizes the kind of self-sacrificing care that we must have for his little ones. This call to rigorous and challenging oversight and guardianship presents a perfect picture of what it means to care for the sheep of the Lord. Only when we understand the rigor of this task can we appreciate the kind of connection our Lord made for himself, and the kind of challenge involved for those of us called to care for the people of God. It is apparent from these discussions on the nature of Christian leadership that your students cannot expect others to submit to them unless they are currently submitting to others right now . There simply is no way that someone ought to expect God to grant them authority when they refuse to obey and submit to the legitimate authority that the Lord has provided them. This principle is inviolate and constant, and it applies to all in leadership or in development to become a leader. Whether someone merely aspires to the role of Church leadership or presently occupies a position of authority in the Church today, they simply must demonstrate submission in their own lives in order to expect submission. As such, your students must understand the importance of receiving the leaders that God has supplied for them (Eph. 4.7-11; 1 Pet. 5.1-5), honoring them in all the work that they do on behalf of the Church (cf. 1 Tim. 5.17, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching,”). Finally, exhort your students on the importance of the discipline of obedience to leadership (Heb. 13.7-9,

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C h r i s t i a n M i n i s t r y

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